


Bloodied Fur and Frosted Skin

by KillingMonsters



Category: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Genre: Grief/Mourning, Murder, No Spoilers, Resurrection, Temporary Character Death, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-07 04:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18613459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillingMonsters/pseuds/KillingMonsters
Summary: No spoilers. Completely and utterly non canonical. Sekiro Whump. Can't stop won't stop.





	1. Chapter 1

Kuro was familiar with death. He knew well how much agony it had been for each and every soldier that died in his name. He had seen halls turned to battle fields, bodies strewn in varying degrees of death. He was always steered quickly away, swiftly guided toward a safe place by a familiarly calloused hand. 

This time, they'd come for his blood. The shinobi stood gaurd outside his door, and from his window he watched his army fall before the brutal waves of enemies. It had happened too quickly even to escape.  There was a sharp, violent crunch outside the door. They had found him. A blood soaked sword plunged through the heavy door, the orange cloth caught at its blunt edge made it clear it had gone through someone. The strength behind that blow had most likely shattered bone as it was forced through without much help from any sharpness. The sword was pulled back, and the door was blown open. Splinters buried themselves into the walls, and scraped past Kuro himself, though he could not be wounded. The shuddering body of his Wolf lay at the intruders feet, blood soaking the floor boards. He chest was crushed, and he heaved for air. 

"Ah, There's the boy. Turns out your pet dog here isnt all the stories say he is." A heavy boot pinned the Shinobi to the floor, and Kuro cringed at the crunch it made. "There is no one else to save you." 

A thin hand reached for him, bony fingers twisting like a snake. As if they had no bones, only joints. Demons had come for his blood, and the grey mist that fell from the beings eyes and mouth proved it. 

"You're wrong." 

The beast raised a twisted eyebrow. 

"About what?" 

"He will always save me." A crash signaled the death of the demons company, a large ogre with a blade sprouting from it's chest. From behind it stepped the still repairing body of the Wolf. 

"The Dragons heritage is true then. Wonderful. And it is clear then, i can not take it by killing you. You can not be hurt, if the tales hold true." He pressed the shakily advancing Shinobi back against the wall, a blade like nail pressed to his throat. "You care about this man." 

"Don't!" 

"I will hurt him, then. In your place. I will show you the suffering your 'gift' causes. And you will give it to me. For it is a curse worthy of only beasts." Five nails buried themselves in an already wounded gut, pulling a harsh gasp from the man. He was thrown to the floor, as the doorway was sealed with the demons power. 

"Wolf!" 

"Alright." He crouched down and whispered, "Welcome to the devil's house, Wolf." 

"I will not grant you immortality, no matter your actions!" 

A thin palm wrapped tightly around the light material of Wolfs false arm. After a pause, "This man will suffer for your cause." Kuro glared. With a twist and a horrendous crack, the prosthetic was torn from its place in a shower of warped metal and crimson blood. The scarred stump of the arm was shredded by the pressure, blood painting it a bright color. 

"This will stop at your decision, Heir. You can save this Dog from this. If not, then i assure you, I will have this castle echo with his screams." 

Kuro shook his head, pressing himself into the corner. The demon pressed one hand to the back of the Wolfs head, the other poised above his gut. With another glace at the boy in the corner, it plunged downward, tearing a hole the size of a plate through the flesh. Ribs poked out from the wounds top, and yet Sekiro made no sound. He struggled, of course, but the demons grip stilled him.  

Kuro was familiar with death, but the weight of watching the life leave a friends body? That was something new, something horrifyingly raw. It brought him back to the flaming rubble of a half burned hall. It had been quick then. Easier. This time, the light in his Wolf's eyes faded agonizingly slowly. It dimmed with every movement, and the tight line he'd pressed thin lips into gave insight to the pain that accompanied his death. 

"He is leaving us. He'll be back. How well will he be, though? Well enough to fight me?" 

"Stop this!"

"Give me your blood, and this can stop." 

There was a sudden flash, just moments after the demon lifted the pressure. The creature screamed and fell to the side. As he fell, the torn shrapnel of Sekiros prosthetic arm dislodged from his throat. The Wolf pulled himself up, staggering toward his Lord. He didn't make it far, collapsing to the ground just feet away. He didn't move again. 

The demon rose. 

" I underestimated your Dog, Heir. I'll have to keep him down then. If he can fight on the verge of death, I can't risk his strength." A blade was drawn from a thin belt, and Kuro shut his eyes as it was carefully slid through his Wolfs shoulder and into the blood soaked floor below. The steel vanished with a sickening thunk, the hilt resting against a wide chest. "That should work. Both arms out of commission." 

The red that symbolized Sekiros return collected around his body, flashing and vanishing as he took a sharp breath. A pained one. 

"That was a good effort, Dog." The demon crouched beside him, and tugged lightly at the tattered scarf. "But i am not so easily defeated. I heal rather swiftly as well."

"If that's the case, we ought to fight to a single death, like men." 

"Ah, but i am far less honorable than that. And fighting you would not serve my purposes. If you attempt to fight again, i will slow your blood until that sickness that hides behind your gift finishes you."

"My only hope is that the sickness you speak of reaches you before it does me." The response earned him a heavy stomp to his newly healed gut. He made a soft noise of pain.

"Wolf, I dont-" a soft brush of rough fingertips silenced him. 

"Do you remember what i once told you?" 

"What?" 

"I said you must do what must be done, my Lord. None can tell you what that is but you. Do not change your mind for my sake, no matter what becomes of me."

"We'll see if he can hold to that when I leave you broken and begging for your life." 

"I do not break." 

"We will see." 

The demon pressed his palm to the shinobis heaving chest, almost carefully. For a moment, nothing changed. Then, suddenly, the Wolf clenched his teeth, but a pained sound still escaped him. Seconds passed, and his face went from pain to grief and back again. And finally, the expression settled on agonized. A heartbeat later, a sound of unimaginable suffering tore itself from his throat, and his body shook with the effort. The blade in his shoulder was pressed deeper as he struggled. Kuro covered his ears, and shut his eyes as tight as he could, but still could not block out his friend's tortured howls. It continued until Wolf could no longer make a sound, his throat shredded. When the palm finally lifted, Sekiro let out a deep breath of relief. He stopped writhing, and just lay on his back, half curled and struggled to breathe. 

Kuro couldn't go to him, not after witnessing that. He stayed in the corner three feet away, and watched. The demon spoke to something in his palm. When he was done, he looked down at his company. 

"We found something that might help us. If you tell me how to safely reach it, i will spare you a repeat of that pain." 

After a moment of nothing but shallow gasping, the Wolf spoke. 

"Ah. You can go right through the barriers. It's just an illusion." Kuro was shocked, that was a betrayal of everything his Shinobi stood for. The demon swept out, and dark eyes met Kuros. 

"My Lord-" 

"You need not appologize. I understand..." He was angry, and he knew his Shinobi knew that. "You are suffering. You must make it stop." 

"No. My Lord, i lied to him." 

"What?" 

"They found the mortal blade. It is the real one, yes, but the barriers are no illusion. It is a curse set by a demon i met in the Senpou Temple and The Divine Child. I'll be suprised if that bastard returns with all his limbs." 

"Wolf, he'll kill you for that." 

"Well, I assumed he was going to do that anyway..." He coughed harshly, spitting blood brought by his throat onto the floor. He reached into his pouch and brought out a tiny round object. "Listen, Lady Emma gave me this. It will shut off all sound. It is for meditation in inopportune places, but it will help you." 

"Why are you giving it to me?" 

"Because when he comes back, its going to be far worse. And I do not think you want to hear that. It is all i can do. Forgive me." 

"No, My Loyal Wolf. This is happening for my sake. I will bear witness because it is all I can do."

"Please." 

"I will keep it, in case it becomes too much for me." The other seemed satisfied with that, though concerned. 

"You will not give him what he wants?" 

"No. I promise you that. And you must promise as well." 

"I would never." 

The demon returned in a firey rage. The door shut tight behind him and in a single movement, pulled the Shinobi from the blade - the hilt tearing a massive hole in his shoulder - and held him by the throat against the wall. 

"If you lie to me again, I will prolong your pain until it kills you, and then i will do it again. And again. And again. Until you can think of nothing but suffering." 

Sekiro laughed, a choked off sound, but the grin told the story his voice could only begin. 

"Do not believe a man who is driven by need, for he will every time give you for his cause." 

"Do not quote proverbs. You have one more chance." 

"Underneath the castle, there is a beast. He holds the key in his gut. Kill him, take the key, and walk through through the barrier." 

"Are you lying to me?" 

The shinobi raised an eye brow. The demon left once again. And the Wolf moved closer to his Lord. 

"Are you lying to him?" 

"Yes Sir, i am." 

"He will do worse." 

"No, he had his worst planned from the beginning. I am giving myself something to enjoy myself, as to resist him for at least a few moments longer." 

"What did it feel like?" 

The Wolf was quiet for a moment. 

"I dare not say. For fear of reliving it in my mind." 

The door opened, and Sekiro tensed. 

"You son of a bitch." The demon towered over him, palm already extending toward him. "Yet again, you lie." 

"I will not give you the truth." 

The pain started immeadiatly after that. It did not stop in death, in ressurection nor in mind. Sekiro lived only agony, and would have given. But the gaze of a small boy kept him grouned. His body gave out eight times, organs shutting down one by one, until his heart went, again. And again. And again. Before the ninth time, he was thrown to the ground, and the demon vanished again. 

"Wolf?" A gentle hand met his shoulder and he flinched. "Are you here? Are you alright? You're shaking." 

He was shaking, and his shoulders had collapsed in on himself. He could do nothing more than lay there, body shuddering with every shallow breath. 

"I have not fully understood the depth if your loyalty until now, Wolf. I have listened to the pain that must have seemed as inescapable as infinity to you. It will end, Loyal Wolf. Soon, it will end. I have watched the blood fall from your lips again and again as your body failed you. And still, you gave him nothing. I am proud." 

"Lord Kuro..." 

"Yes?" 

"The..." His voice broke, cracking into something that Kuro wouldn't think about.  He pulled his friends head into his lap, letting him bury his face in the soft folds of his cloak. Wolf resisted at first, finally covering his bloodied mouth and chin - to keep the blood off, of course. Kuro knew the horrible shuddering that wracked his Shinobis lithe body was as close to crying as he could probably ever get.

"Wolf?" 

"It is as if my body knows only... It will not stop." The shinobi coughed into his palm. "Ah..." 

"Are you alright?" 

"I am-" He gasped for air, choking on the blood that welled in his throat. "Once again..." 

Kuro held him tightly, holding powerful shoulders as they jerked against the pain. 

Minutes passed. Kuros Wolf stilled, finally. The room flashed red, and slow breathing broke the silence. 

"Wolf?" 

"I am back, Lord." 

"We have to get away from here." 

The older man pulled himself up, body still shaking with a strength that likely would not stop for a long time. He pressed a tiny object into Kuros hand. 

"Eat this. It will make you invisible. I will distract him, since his anger is focused on me at the moment. You run until you reach the ruined temple covered in prayer slips. Ask for Hanbei. He will be able to come back for me." 

"I can not leave you with him!" Kuro pushed the item away. "He will erase all but agony from your mind!" 

"Young Master, I am humbled by your care. Do not, however, presume that my mind contains anything but." 

"I will go... I will bring Hanbei. Forgive me." 

"There is no wrong to be forgiven, My Lord." 

It was a long time before the beast returned, fuming. The apparent absence of his goal made him angrier, turning on Sekiro. Kuro looked back at the door frame. He wished he hadn't. Fresh blood dampened the floor, as the demons hand dug deeper into his friends chest. He turned away, chased by the horrid sound of agony.


	2. Chapter 2

"Young man?" A peasant woman had stopped by his side, crouching gently. "Are you alright?"

Kuro flinched, pushing himself back. 

"I mean you no harm, little one." 

"I am looking for an old temple and a man named Hanbei." 

"I know of an abandoned place, the bridge is fallen. I know no Hanbei. Why do you need to get there?" 

"They have my Wolf, they will destroy him if Hanbei does not help him." 

"A dog?" 

"No, a man. He is my Shinobi, and if no one can help him i fear i will lose him forever." 

"Where is he?" 

Kuro did not answer, instead running off in the direction she had pointed. His feet bled by the time he reached the temple yard. A man in a carved mask rushed to him as he fell and he knew no more. 

It felt like just moments had passed, and moments were yet too long. He shot up from the makeshift bed, pantimg heavily. 

"Calm, child. What happened?" 

"Wolf!" 

"Where is he? Why are you here?" 

"They got him! He told me to find Hanbei!" 

"I am Hanbei. What is it he needs?" 

"Help him! There was this demon and he tore up My Wolf's wooden arm, and it got really bad after that - and they have the Mortal Blade!" 

"Calm down. Are you sure hes still there? You've been asleep for nearly a day." 

"You have to go! Hurry! They're killing him!" 

"Hes immortal, he'll be okay. You need to relax."

Hanbei left soon after that, the old man in the temple left as the Heirs only company. But that was alright, because he had found Hanbei, and his Wolf would not have to suffer much longer. 

\--- 

Days, perhaps three by Sekiros estimate, had passed. There was no break from the pain. Demons, Apparently, didn't sleep. A fourth day, and he was wearing down. A sixth, and he snapped. 

"Stop!" He gasped through the hand at his throat. "Ill tell you, Just-" 

"You lie and I'll throw you to the dogs."

"You... You can't get it. The barrier is made so that only someone immortal can get it... I can go in." 

The demon regarded him for a moment, studying his face. "Six days. Admirable." He pulled the Shinobi from the wall and wrapped his only remaining arm in a painful hold. He was shoved toward a low room in the Castle, one far out of the way. It had only one entrance, but every inch of the room was warded against everything but the True Dragons Heritage. 

"Get it, bring it to me, and ill kill you quickly." 

He pushed Sekiro roughly through the doorway. He passed through the thin white dust as if it was little more than normal air. He hit the ground, quickly recoiling from the burnt corpses of three unidentifiable beings. Clearly, failed attempts to reach the blade. He rose, staggering toward the blade resting at the far wall. 

"Bring it to me." 

Sekiro paused, then turned and gave his company a thin smile. 

"I will not be leaving this room, and neither will that blade."

"Then you will rot with it. And when your body is too weak to do anything but die over and over and over again, I'll search out your Master and tear him apart as i did you." 

"You will not find him." 

"Perhaps not. But you would not know if i had." 

Sekiro said nothing, instead turning to the blade. 

"Are you aware that you would not be able to pull the Mortal Blade from its sheath?"   
Sekiro looked back over his shoulder, throwing the ruined remnants of his orange clothing aside. "Do you know how it got its name?" 

"Because it makes the immortal Mortal." 

Sekiro moved back to the door way, just inside the barrier. He reached out, palm up, and waited.

"What?" 

"Take my hand. Then you will safely pass through the barrier." 

"Why? I will not allow you to trick me again."

"No tricks." Sekiro tilted his head, waiting. "If you want this blade, this blade that can peirce the Divine Heirs body and take from him his blood and his gift, you will have to take my hand." 

The demon did, hesitantly. He was pulled unceremoniously through the barrier as if it were not there. Sekiro released him, lifting the blade from its stand. 

"Give it to me." 

Moments later, it rested in his palms. 

"Good. I will grant you a swift death with its edge. I commend you for your service." 

"Perhaps you should not."

He ignored the Shinobi, tearing the blade free. For a moment, he marveled at ita beauty. Then, he gasped, the blade falling from his grasp. 

"I should have said." Sekiro pushed the dying body of the demon away, letting him fall to the ground. "It is Mortal because all who draw it are killed."

With a final push of energy, the demon threw a blast of odd greyness at the man above him. Then, he was gone, murdered by the object he so needed. 

Sekiro's body failed him, the deaths upon deaths of a pain so incredible it could not remember a time when a touch had not been hateful. The dust struck his chest, and he crumpled. It was not dust, and whatever it was soaked into his body and tore through flesh and bone. He lay there, body consumed from the inside, and waited to die. He didn't, not for a very long time. When his eyes opened it was to a familiar voice. 

"Wolf, Are you alive?" 

"I am. Hanbei?" 

"I am here. I dare not pass through the door, are you able to come to me?" 

"Is the Young Lord alright?" 

"Yes. Hes safe at the temple. He is terrified for you, however." 

Sekiro rolled over, the hole in his chest only half healed and excruciatingly painful. 

"He says a Demon killed you without raising a weapon." 

"Yes..." He pushed the blood red blade back into its sheath, and stood. He nearly fell again, his body shuddering with effort. When finally he made it out of the room, Hanbei caught him. 

"We need to get back to the Temple. Are you able to run?" 

"No. Hanbei, im sorry." 

"Appologize when we're safe. Its gonna be a rough ride." 

"Hanbei. Listen." Sekiro pressed a hand against the bloody crater in his chest. "Whatever it was that made this wound was never meant for mortal men. It was meant for men like us." 

"Shh. Im getting you out." 

"Hanbei." 

"Stop it." With that, he lifted the other onto his back and began the slow process of leaving the castle. 

"If this kills me, i will not come back." 

"You better not let it kill you, Wolf." 

"I will try... But my body is already failing me... I am overwhelmed with the knowledge that Lord Kuro escaped safely. 

"Yeah? How'd the demons react to that?"

"They tore my heart from my chest and let me die twice before replacing it and allowing it to reattach." 

"You did not fight?" 

Sekiro huffed. 

"Of course i fought." 

Hanbei had tried to continue the hushed conversation, but his company and fallen unconscious. He pulled the limp arms closer to his chest and continued on. 

Sekiro woke in pain. His body felt like he'd  been fighting that damn Ogre again. He coughed, and opened his eyes. It was dark, but warm. A heavy weight pressed down on his chest. 

"Wolf!? Are you awake!?" It was a womans voice, soft, but scared. He tried to respond, but all that came out was a sound of pain. He felt the world slip away from him again. "No! Stay with us, Wolf!" 

He woke again, and light touched his face. The pain persisted, lancing through his body with even the smallest movement. 

"Emma! His eyes moved!" A young boys voice. Kuro? He reached for the source of the sound despite the pain. A small hand caught his, warming aching knuckles. 

"Wolf? Can you hear me?" 

"Yes..." 

"Thank the Gods. Hanbei brought you back and i believed you had finally fallen." 

"I..." 

"Wolf, I should have stayed with you. You should not have had to suffer through that alone." The grip around tiny fingers grew tighter, edging the line of pain. 

"Had you stayed, you would have had quite the lesson in human anatomy." 

"I dont like the implications of that." 

"Good." He pulled the boy into a gentle hug, stroking his hair. "I'm glad you're safe..." 

"Im glad you're okay." 

"Okay might be stretching it a little, but I'll get there." 

Kuro curled gently around his Shinobi, hands fisted in grey cloth.


End file.
